1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic content distribution.
2. State of the Art
As electronic commerce matures, examples have emerged of successful business models for electronic commerce. One such successful model is an xe2x80x9cassociates programxe2x80x9d of a type popularized by the Amazon.com bookseller site. An associate, someplace on the associate""s Web site, mentions a recommended book and makes a link to the bookseller""s catalog page for the book. The associate automatically begins earning referral fees for sales generated by these links. While some associate sites may be relatively obscure, other associate sites, such as on-line magazines, may be heavily trafficked.
In the foregoing instance, giving referral credit is straightforward. The identify of the referrer may be embedded in the link. When the bookseller""s Web site receives the link, it extracts the identity of the referrer and takes appropriate action to ensure that credit is given to the referrer. This action occurs immediately upon click through.
Clearly, such an associates program is applicable not only to books but to all objects of electronic commerce, including, for example, electronic content such as software, digital pictures and sounds, etc. Software is increasingly distributed electronically (electronic software distribution, or ESD). ESD technologies may be categorized as xe2x80x9cBuy Before You Tryxe2x80x9d (Buy/Try) and xe2x80x9cTry Before You Buyxe2x80x9d (Try/Buy). Buy/Try may follow a pay-then-download model or a download-then-pay model. The Try/Buy approach, on the other hand, is clearly favored by software purchasers and offers advantages to software publishers as well. However, while Buy/Try technology is relatively straightforward, Try/Buy technology is considerably more complex, with purchase occurring at any time within a trial period (e.g., 30 days), if at all. Software that allows a software publisher to perform Try/Buy self-wrapping of a software program is sold by the present assignee.
In an associates program of the type described, the on-line merchant""s server requires knowledge of the source of the referral at the time of sale. In the case of Try/Buy ESD, the sale may occur at any time during a trial period or may not occur at all. For Try/Buy ESD, presently no convenient mechanism exists for identifying the referrer to the merchant server at the time of sale. The same problem exists for electronic distribution of all types of electronic content where distribution follows a download-then-pay model.
The present invention, generally speaking, makes possible an associates program for electronic content distribution by providing a mechanism whereby a referrer may be identified at the time of purchase in a download-then-pay system. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, an identifier or marker is added to the electronic content at the time of download. Merchant and purchase location information may also be added. At the time of purchase, a commerce module retrieves the identifier and presents it to the merchant server. The commerce module may also form part of the download or may originate from another source. The identifier may be used for various purposes. For example, the identifier may be used, directly or indirectly, to identify a referrer, to whom a referral fee is then credited. Also, the identifier may be used to look up offer information, since the price at the time of purchase may be different than the offer price at the time of download. The invention is applicable not only to Try/Buy software distribution but more generally to download-then-pay electronic content distribution and rental programs.